31 Oct 2013

The male chaffinches at this site really object to one another.
This is a genuine un-fiddled single frame of the clearest battle
we have ever seen. What a pity they both have bumblefoot and may
not make it through to next year to enjoy their hard won territory.

30 Oct 2013

You may already have seen the animation of the growth of the 'field' at
http://www.moorhen.me.uk/the_field/the_field.htm.
We are still taking the images, and in August 2002 we added one
each left and right of the original centre section, slightly
overlapping. For some reason we don't ever remember montaging
these into a panorama. So here is a mid-summer view as a 150
degree wide montage.

27 Oct 2013

Our only Lime tree (as opposed to Large-leaf Lime) showed a twig
with the leaves completely eaten away. The culprits had moved to
an adjacent twig where we found about 10 Buff-tip moth
caterpillars continuing their search for food.

Finish your greens before leaving the branch!
Our only Lime tree showed a twig
with the leaves completely eaten away. The culprits had moved to
an adjacent twig where we found about 10 Buff-tip moth
caterpillars continuing their search for food.

25 Oct 2013

We heard the rustling of this male Southern Hawker Dragonfly
apparently trapped in a tangle of grass. Untangling him revealed
that he was hooked by his left forewing on a dead blackberry
thorn (the brown stem middle left to bottom right).

After being freed the Dragonfly sat for a moment on the hand. You
can see that both left wings got bashed about in the struggle,
but real damage was minimal (the thorn simply pierced a single
tiny cell) and he flew off perfectly a few seconds after this pic.

23 Oct 2013

A maturing young Robin arrives for an early breakfast.
Autumn Bounty: In the Winter, Spring and Summer we expect any food we
put out in the evening to be completely gone by morning. But in the glut
of autumn heaps of food get barely touched overnight and sometimes some
is left the next evening.
Warning: we have closed the bird to stump gap a bit for artistic effect.

22 Oct 2013

21 Oct 2013

A Wild Rose shoot a few cm high in our 'wildlife friendly' gravel
turning area contained 3 Robin's Pincushions - created by
a Gall wasp's chemical on this species. This one is only 15mm
across (half inch) and was this genuine red.

A Wild Rose shoot a few cm high in our 'wildlife friendly' gravel
turning area contained 3 Robin's Pincushions - created by
a Gall wasp's chemical on this species. These larger two
are about 5cm (2 inches) across and more quietly coloured than the smaller one.

20 Oct 2013

"An Apple a Day keeps the ..."
Well, this apple had vanished along with the fox by the next frame!

Ref: D50_20130820_2016_082_FB1 Fox staring at Apple (gone in next frame).jpg

19 Oct 2013

Neither of our aging ears can hear the chirp of crickets anymore,
but we spotted this female Roesel's Bush Cricket low on the
ground looking wonderful in the sunlight. The antennae are at
least as long as the body of the insect and would probably have
carried on out of this crop if not hidden by foliage.

This was an unusual moment to photograph - the legs are down even
though it had flown non-stop for at least several seconds. At 4 fps the
insect was flying towards the camera and made a right angled turn
with little forward motion (all in 250mS) and then accelerated to the left.
Do the legs change the aerodynamics to improve the turn?
Had it spotted something to eat? Dragonflies sometimes predate small butterflies, catching
them in flight.

14 Oct 2013

Photographing dragonflies in flight outdoors is very hit and miss.
Lock the camera focus at 2 or 3 meters, lock shutter and aperture
(camera Manual mode), about 135mm lens, point the camera at the
darting little creature and hold down shutter on 'repeat' whenever
you are pointed in roughly the right direction and distance.
We get about a 1% useable rate but it is fun trying!

10 Oct 2013

This Fox pays many visits to the ground level sites.
We know it is the same animal from a tiny nick near the
top right of it's right ear (left and left as viewed here)
more visible in the higher resolution originals

08 Oct 2013

Against the wall of the house, this juvenile Bluetit perches on
some of the many blackberry branches that invade everything, but
we allow to grow until the autumn clear-up unless they are a
danger or in the way!